Evaluating the Potential for Urban Heat-Islandmitigation by Greening Parking Lots
Akio Onishia, Xin Caob,∗, Takanori Itoc, Feng Shia, Hidefumi Imuraa
a Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
b State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
c Nagoya Institute of Technology, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan
ABSTRACT: Artificial urban land uses such as commercial and residential buildings, roads, and parking lots covered by impervious surfaces can contribute to the formation of urban heat islands (UHIs), whereas vegetation such as trees, grass, and shrubs can mitigate UHIs. Considering the increasing area of parking lots with little vegetation cover in Nagoya, Japan, this study evaluated the potential for UHI mitigation of greening parking lots in Nagoya. The relationships between land surface temperature (LST) and land use/land cover (LULC) in different seasons were analyzed using multivariate linear regression models. Potential UHI mitigation was then simulated for two scenarios: (1) grass is planted on the surface of each parking lot with coverage from 10 to 100% at an interval of 10% and (2) parking lots are covered by 30% trees and 70% grass. The results show that different LULC types play different roles in different seasons and times. On average, both scenarios slightly reduced the LST for the whole study area in spring or summer. However, for an individual parking lot, themaximumLST decrease was 7.26 ◦C in summer. This research can help us understand the roles of vegetation cover and provide practical guidelines for planning parking lots to mitigate UHIs.
KEYWORD：Land use; Land cover; Land surface temperature; Urban heat island
Published in URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING, 2010, 9(4): 323–332